The dead animal at storytime

By now, many of you have read our Christmas letter and may be wondering, was Alex serious about the dead animal at storytime? Let me assure you, he was dead serious.

A little background: During the summer, part of my job at the library is to meet our Bookmobile at its various stops throughout the week, one per day, and do a storytime. Really, these storytimes are fraught with all sorts of peril: chiggers, biting ants, running dogs, extreme heat, enticing playgrounds, the list goes on and on. Well, this year we faced a heretofore unknown challenge--what do you do when there's a dead rabbit's leg in the middle of your storytime spot?


I set up our storytime mats as far away from it as possible, but for two weeks, my storytime was interrupted with, "Did you know there's a dead rabbit over there?" And this would come mid-sentence while I was reading, mind you. I left it alone, figuring for sure the trailer park's groundskeeper would pick it up. Or maybe one of those dogs!

But when I came the third week and it was still there, I decided no more. (Now you understand this means there had been a dead rabbit's leg in the middle of their playground for three weeks and no one had moved it.) So I took a plastic bag, picked it up, and put it in the dumpster. Then all we had to contend with were the chiggers, ants, enticing playground equipment....

Spinach Frittata

Here it is, my first recipe. We find that this is the one we reach for when we don't have much time or much of anything in the house but still need some quality nourishment.

Spinach Frittata
from Midwest Living
4 slightly beaten eggs
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 c. torn fresh spinach leaves
½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat broiler. In a small bowl, combine eggs and pepper.
2. In a 10-inch broiler-proof skillet (if yours is not, cover the handle with tinfoil), heat oil over medium heat. Add spinach. Cover; cook for 1-2 minutes until spinach starts to wilt.
3. Pour eggs over spinach. Cook over medium heat. As mixture sets, run a spatula around edge of skillet, lifting egg mixture so uncooked portion flows underneath. Continue cooking and lifting till egg mixture is nearly set (surface will be moist). Sprinkle with cheese.
4. Place the skillet under broiler 4-5” from heat. Broil 1 minute, just until top is set and cheese is melted. Run spatula around edge of skillet to loosen frittata. Slide onto a serving plate and season with salt.

292 calories

Notes: We often use 5 eggs and it still tastes great. We also substitute whatever cheese we have in the house.

Joy

This is a talk I did at Cornerstone Church's colllege ministry on Nov 29, 2007. I enjoyed giving it a lot, which is good, given the topic. I did the same talk at the Light a couple of weeks before that. Click on "Joy" in the heading and it will take you to the Salt Company website. You can scroll down and then download the talk if you would like to listen.